The innovative model to create 'wealth out of waste' and new scientific solid waste management (SWM) project being adopted by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation ( AMC) in the city has generated interest in other Indian cities. Six cities are taking a leaf out of AMC's book and learning from the project under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Representatives of Kochi, Nashik, Raipur, Shimla, Varanasi and Tirupati and German organization GTZ experts visited municipal project sites at Gyaspur recently.

Senior technical expert of GTZ Vaishali Nandan said, "The public private partnership (PPP) model in managing municipal waste in Ahmedabad has been an example for other cities to follow. We are trying to learn from the experience of AMC authorities to implement SWM projects in the best possible way in six Indian cities."

Sensitization, awareness creation and introducing projects suited to cultural ethos of the respective cities are the most important aspects, she adds. The focus of the three-day workshop, organized by GTZ and Advisory Services in Environmental Management (ASEM), Government of India, is on PPP for SWM and e-governance for implementation of mandatory reforms.

Commenting on the functioning of municipal SWM projects in Indian cities, senior advisor of GTZ Regina Dube said, "Cities need comprehensive municipal SWM plans at city level, which reflect all waste streams and can be regularly amended."

The vital aspect is financial sustainability, without which the projects will fail in the long run, she added. AMC produces 2,300 metric tonnes of municipal waste every day.

A senior AMC official said, "One of the SWM projects under PPP which is in operation turns municipal waste into pellets which are used as industrial fuel. We are also introducing new advanced methods to manage municipal waste in a completely hygienic and scientific way."